Looking for tips on an issue with the title preventing sale of my truck

Hey guys, so I'm going to try and keep this brief.

In December 2020 I leased a Tacoma and quickly realized how terrible the lease terms were. I went back to the dealer in early January 2021 and converted the lease to a purchase. In late January I paid the truck off in full, Toyota sent me a lien release letter and said the title would arrive shortly. The title arrived as promised around late February.

Fast forward to late March and the dealership calls in a panic asking if I have the title. I say yes and they ask me to bring it in, as they need to do some additional processing on their end and order a new title. I bring it in and am told I'll have a new title in a few weeks.

Fast forward a bit more and I am planning to sell this truck to buy another. I get offers on the truck from CarMax, Carvana, and Vroom; any of which I'd happily accept. They all have instructions along the lines of "show us the title, and hand it to the guy who picks up your truck."

I don't have a title, and am still waiting. I call the dealership to see what's up and they say them DMV is dragging their feet. I call the DMV and their little robot guy says 15+ weeks on titles.

I call Toyota Financial and that's where it gets interesting... TFS says the title is marked discrepant because the dealership did not process it correctly during refinancing and listed the wrong lien holder. They tell me even if I kept the title and told the dealer to stuff it, that the next party would've been unable to transfer it due to the mark, and it would need reprocessed. They take a minute and speak to a supervisor who learns it'll be 48 WEEKS until my new title arrived! TFS has thrown the dealer under the bus and in no uncertain terms states this is their fault.

At this point please note I have a deposit down on a new truck and am planning to show up in 1-2wk to buy (assuming I've got the cash...)

The dealership seems somewhat eager to fix their mistake and claims to have worked with TFS to "remove the mark" meaning I can "sell the truck." I cannot however sell the truck as the timeline on the title has not changed.

I feel the dealership should be forced to buy the truck from me for whatever the highest offer I've received. Is this unreasonable?

I'm currently giving them "2-3 days" while they apparently wait on something from TFS (not clear what they're waiting on, since it's not the title...)

I'm going back Tuesday and hoping to force a resolution of some kind. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation, or have any tips on possible outcomes?

 

Bumping in the hopes someone has advice.

 

I’m curious how a title gets marked discrepant on what I presume was a backend check, but still somehow got issued in the first place. This sounds like an all around annoyance. Best of luck, hopefully someone can chime in with some actual advice or guidance.

 

I’m assuming you’re in Oregon? Beyond the title mistake you still would’ve been up shits creek since you didn’t get to the DMV with your “old” title and the lien release letter - you take both to the DMV and they mail you a title in your name and remove the lien. It’s only relevant because in a perfect world, your time line for a new truck and taco sale/trade would likely have still been an issue.

All that said, it sounds like a typo or clerical error at the dealer screwed you over. I’m still unclear as to what the mistake was with your title (other than they noted an entirely wrong entity as a lien holder). I know Oregon DMV has a massive back log on titles in particular. I know you called and got the automated prompt but if you can reach a person over the phone that’s really your best bet for advancing this from their side. When I actually talked to a person at DMV they were incredibly helpful and expedited my issue (I was super polite/understanding with them for what it’s worth).

All that said I doubt the dealer will compensate or help you at all for this headache unless your deposit on the 2nd truck is with them. Most dealers I know could careless about goodwill, especially in this climate where people are lining up to buy from them at sticker.

OA